CN115552870A - Home network using multiple wireless networking protocols - Google Patents

Abstract

A sensor device includes processing circuitry configured to: the first bandwidth data is output to the hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol. In response to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, the processing circuit is configured to output a second wireless connection request to the hub device using the first wireless connection. In response to the hub device outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device, the processing circuit is configured to establish the second wireless connection for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol. The processing circuit is configured to output second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using a second wireless connection. The second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth.

Description

Home network using multiple wireless networking protocols

Priority of U.S. application No. 16/831,476, filed on 26/3/2020, is claimed in this application, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to networks, in particular networks for use in, for example, home monitoring systems, comfort systems and security systems.

Background

The home network may use a wireless network protocol to connect devices in the home. For example, hub (hub) devices may use IEEE 802.15.4 to connect one hundred more sensor devices in a home to the hub device. The hub device may then collect sensor data collected by the sensor devices in the home. For example, the hub device may collect temperature readings from a plurality of temperature sensors disposed within a house and output the temperature readings to a thermostat, which uses the temperature readings to control the HVAC system. In another example, the hub device may collect door/window sensor readings and output the door/window sensor readings to a home security sensor.

Disclosure of Invention

In general, the present disclosure relates to systems, devices, and techniques for wirelessly connecting devices using multiple wireless protocols. For example, a sensor device of a home network may connect to a hub device using a first wireless protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) having relatively low bandwidth capabilities to output a battery status of the sensor device to the hub device. In this example, the sensor device may connect to the hub device using a second wireless protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH) having a relatively high bandwidth capability to output video data generated by the sensor device to the hub device. In this manner, the sensor devices of the home network may dynamically select a wireless protocol based on data to be transmitted to and from the sensor devices.

In some examples, the present disclosure describes a sensor device of a set of sensor devices configured to register (enroll) with a hub device. The sensor device includes processing circuitry configured to: outputting first bandwidth data to a hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol; responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting a second wireless connection request to the hub device using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol; responsive to the hub device outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request, establishing a second wireless connection, the second wireless connection configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol; and outputting second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

In some examples, the present disclosure describes a method comprising: outputting, by the processing circuitry of the sensor device, first bandwidth data to the hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol; responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting, by the processing circuit, a second wireless connection request to the hub device using a first wireless connection configured for the first wireless protocol; establishing, by the processor, a second wireless connection in response to the hub device outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request, the second wireless connection configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol; and outputting, by the processing circuit, second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

A system as described in some examples includes: a hub device; a plurality of sensor devices registered with a hub device, wherein a sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices comprises a first processing circuit configured to: outputting first bandwidth data to a hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless protocol; and in response to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting a second wireless connection request to the hub device using the first wireless protocol; wherein the hub device includes a second processing circuit configured to output information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request; and wherein the first processing circuitry is further configured to: establishing a second wireless connection using a second wireless protocol for establishing the second wireless connection different from the first wireless protocol in response to the hub device outputting the information for establishing the second wireless connection; and outputting second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

The details of one or more examples of the disclosure are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Fig. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a sensor device establishing a first wireless connection and exchanging first bandwidth data according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1B is a conceptual diagram illustrating the sensor devices of fig. 1A exchanging a second wireless connection request, according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1C is a conceptual diagram illustrating the sensor device of fig. 1A establishing a second wireless connection and exchanging second bandwidth data, according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1D is a conceptual diagram illustrating the sensor device of fig. 1A terminating a second wireless connection, according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating an example of a home network according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a conceptual block diagram of a hub device and a sensor device according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a conceptual block diagram of a hub device and friend node(s) according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual block diagram of a first use case of a hub device and a friend node according to some examples of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual block diagram of a second use case of a hub device and friend nodes according to some examples of this disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual block diagram of a third use case of a hub device and friend node according to some examples of this disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual block diagram of a fourth use case of a hub device and a friend node, according to some examples of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example technique for wirelessly connecting devices using multiple wireless protocols in accordance with some examples of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Modern residential or other buildings may include a central "hub" device configured to manage one or more systems within the building, such as monitoring systems, comfort systems, or other security systems. The hub device may be in wireless communication with a plurality of other devices located throughout the building. For example, the central hub device may wirelessly receive sensor data from any number of different sensor devices, such as motion sensors, air quality and/or temperature sensors, infrared sensors, door and/or window contact sensors, and/or other sensor devices. Further, the hub device may wirelessly transmit commands or instructions to one or more controllable sensor devices. For example, the hub device may instruct a thermostat to adjust the temperature within the building, or in another example, may instruct a damper (damper) to open or close an air vent (air vent).

In some applications for managing one or more systems within a building, BLUETOOTH radio communication technology may have advantages over other radio connection technologies (such as, for example, IEEE 802.15.4 radio communication technologies). For example, BLUETOOTH radio communication technology may support high data rates and throughput compared to IEEE 802.15.4 radio communication technology. For example, BLUETOOTH may have a basic bandwidth of greater than 500 kilobits per second (kbps) (e.g., 1 Mbps), while IEEE 802.15.4 may have a basic bandwidth of less than 500kbps (e.g., 250 kbps). From a distance perspective, the BLUETOOTH radio technology and the IEEE 802.15.4 radio communication technology may have nearly equal link budgets. As used herein, a link budget may refer to power gain and loss experienced by a communication signal when transmitted through a medium (e.g., free space, walls, signal noise, etc.). In some examples, BLUETOOTH may have a join time (e.g., latency) greater than 1 second (e.g., 3 seconds), while IEEE 802.15.4 may have a join time less than 1 second (e.g., 30 milliseconds (ms)). As used herein, BLUETOOTH may refer to current and future versions of BLUETOOTH. Examples of BLUETOOTH include traditional BLUETOOTH (e.g., version 1.0, 1.0B, 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5, 5.1, etc.), BLUETOOTH low energy consumption (e.g., version 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 5, 5.1, etc.), and other types of BLUETOOTH. Thus, all instances of "BLUETOOTH" herein should be interpreted to include conventional BLUETOOTH and/or BLUETOOTH low energy consumption. BLUETOOTH may operate at frequencies between 2.402 to 2.480GHz, 2.400 to 2.4835GHz (including 2MHz wide guard bands and 3.5MHz wide guard bands), or in other frequency ranges. In some examples, each frequency channel of a BLUETOOTH channel may have a center frequency that differs from a center frequency of an adjacent channel by less than 1 MHz. In some examples, each frequency channel of a wireless channel (e.g., an IEEE 802.15.4 channel) may have a center frequency that differs from the center frequency of an adjacent channel by more than 1MHz (e.g., 2MHz, 5MHz, etc.).

As used herein, BLUETOOTH may refer to communications that use frequency hopping, such as, for example, frequency-hopping spread spectrum (frequency-hopping spread spectrum), to avoid interference from other radio communications. For example, a device using a BLUETOOTH LE channel may operate a BLUETOOTH LE channel that hops between 3 frequency channels when using an advertising channel (advertising channel) and between 37 frequency channels when operating without an advertising channel. In contrast, IEEE 802.15.4 may instead use direct sequence spread spectrum techniques. For example, a device may use IEEE 802.15.4 to establish a wireless channel by mixing signal signaling data of the wireless channel with a pseudorandom code, which is then extracted by a receiver from an external device. Direct sequence spreading can help enhance the signal-to-noise ratio by spreading the transmitted signal across a wide frequency band. In some examples, a device that establishes a wireless channel using IEEE 802.15.4 may be configured to scan for clear spectrum (clear spectrum).

Smart-home devices may deploy many different wireless protocols to address the need for a smart-home. There are standard-based protocols (Wi-Fi, zigbee, thread, zwave, BLUETOOTH, DECT, etc.) and proprietary manufacturer-specific protocols. The problem with this series of protocols is that: each protocol is tailored to a specific application. For example, wi-Fi are likely to be particularly useful for high-bandwidth data applications that do not require long battery life. Zigbee systems may be particularly suitable for low bandwidth data applications to maximize battery life. Furthermore, not all wireless protocols are globally compatible. For example, zwave ™ cells can have different hardware designs for different regions of operation.

Thus, some smart home systems may include a collection of different networks that do not interoperate (interoperates). For example, a Wi-Fi ™ network of a smart home system may not be operable with a BLUETOOTH network of a smart home system or a Zwave ™ network of a smart home system. In this example, a BLUETOOTH network may not be able to operate with a Zwave ™ network.

In accordance with the techniques of this disclosure, a sensor device may be configured with a wireless protocol architecture that is globally compatible, provides long battery life, and has high bandwidth data capabilities that will work seamlessly within a smart-home ecosystem. The techniques described herein may help allow a smart-home system to dynamically use multiple wireless network protocols to improve the performance of the smart-home system. For example, the techniques described herein may permit a sensor device and/or a hub device to address all needs of a smart-home system having a single network architecture, thereby simplifying installation, rather than relying on a range of communication technologies and the person building the smart-home system to carefully select compatible devices. The techniques described herein may help provide a connected home solution in which all system components interoperate without requiring the installer to consider the type of protocol being used.

For example, a smart home system may include a hub device, a friend node, and one or more sensor devices. Each component of the smart-home system may be configured to operate according to a wireless protocol appropriate for the type of service that the component provides. A component with multiple services may support multiple wireless protocols. For example, a smart home system may be configured to support Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, and IEEE 802.15.4 for connecting to cloud services (e.g., the internet). In this example, the smart home system may use BLUETOOTH for high bandwidth services (e.g., audio/video and telephony connections) and IEEE 802.15.4 for low bandwidth services (e.g., telemetry data). The use of a combination of Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, and IEEE 802.15.4 may help "fill in" a "gap" in which only a single wireless protocol technology is used.

Sensor devices in a smart home network may include simple telemetry devices as well as more complex sensor devices (e.g., video recording sensors). A telemetry sensor (which may be referred to herein as a type of sensor device) may be configured to use the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol. More complex sensor devices that handle audio and video may be configured to use both protocols. Such sophisticated sensor devices may be configured to provide sensor telemetry data (e.g., status, battery life, configuration data, etc.) using IEEE 802.15.4 and high bandwidth data (e.g., telephony connections, audio, image transfers, file transfers, etc.) using the BLUETOOTH protocol.

In accordance with techniques of this disclosure, in some examples, a smart home network may use friend nodes that may be configured to communicate using multiple protocols. For example, a friend node may be configured to communicate using Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, and IEEE 802.15.4. The friend node may be configured to: 1) Providing functionality (e.g., a thermostat, a keypad, an alarm (siren), a smoke and/or CO detector); 2) A repeater acting as an out-of-range sensor device for the hub device; 3) When the intelligent home network has no central hub equipment, the intelligent home network serves as the central hub equipment; and 4) effectively act as a range extender by converting sensor traffic to Internet Protocol (IP) traffic at the node and moving the data stream to cloud logic. In some examples, the friend node may have access to a primary power source (e.g., direct access and/or indirect access via power stealing techniques) and/or may be configured with a battery backup (battery backup).

The hub device may be configured to communicate in multiple protocols. For example, the hub device may be configured to communicate using Wi-Fi ™ sections, BLUETOOTH and IEEE 802.15.4. Hub device may be configured to link data from friend node(s) and sensor device(s) to a cloud service (e.g., the internet).

In accordance with techniques of this disclosure, a smart home network may use a radio coexistence (co-existence) manager (e.g., a hub device) configured to separate the use of a Radio Frequency (RF) medium with respect to precise time (e.g., the time when any channel is being used) and/or at what precise frequency is being used by that channel (e.g., a BLUETOOTH channel). Through careful design and consideration by the manager, the three networks (e.g., BLUETOOTH, IEEE 802.15.4, and Wi-Fi ™ networks) can operate in a seamless manner for the observer.

The combination of techniques described herein may result in a robust network topology that may overcome regional regulatory differences and thus deliver overall home performance within a single framework.

Fig. 1A is a conceptual diagram illustrating a sensor device 14 establishing a first wireless connection 16 and exchanging first bandwidth data according to some examples of the present disclosure. Although the system 10 illustrates only the hub device 12 and the sensor device 14, the system 10 may include additional devices (e.g., devices that communicate wirelessly with each other). The system 10 may be installed within a building and surrounding premises (collectively referred to as "premises" in this disclosure).

Hub device 12 may include a computing device configured to operate one or more systems within a building, such as comfort, safety, and/or security systems. For example, as described further below, hub device 12 may include processing circuitry configured to receive data, such as from one or more devices and/or from user input, and process the data to automate one or more systems within a building. For example, as non-limiting examples, the hub device 12 may automate, control, or otherwise manage the system, including heating and cooling, ventilation, lighting, or authorized access to individual rooms or other areas. For example, the Hub devices 12 may comprise Resideo Technologies, inc. of Austin, tex. "Life and Property Safety Hub. Hub device 12 may include a wired connection to a power grid, but in some examples may include an internal power source, such as a battery, a super capacitor, or another internal power source.

The sensor equipment 14 may be configured to register with the hub equipment 12. For example, the sensor device 14 may be configured to exchange sensor data with the hub device 12 and/or be controlled by the hub device 12. The sensor devices 14 may be configured to collect or generate sensor data and transmit the sensor data to the hub device 12 for processing. In some examples, the sensor device 14 may comprise a controllable device. The controllable device may be configured to perform a specified function when the controllable device receives an instruction (e.g., a command or other programming) from hub device 12 to perform the function. Examples of different types of sensor devices 14 are included in the description of fig. 2 below. The sensor device 14 may include a wired connection to the power grid or include an internal power source, such as a battery, a super capacitor, or another internal power source.

The processing circuitry 15 may be configured to establish a first wireless connection 16 between the sensor device 14 and the hub device 12 using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol. The first wireless protocol may include, for example and without limitation, a wireless connection protocol (e.g., a low power wireless connection protocol).

Examples of a low power connection protocol may include, but are not limited to, IEEE 802.15.4, a low power protocol using the 900MHz band, or another low power connection protocol. As used herein, an IEEE 802.15.4 may include any standard or specification which conforms to IEEE 802.15.4 (such as, for example, zigbee ™ chambers, ISA100.11a ™ chambers, wirelessHART ™ chambers, miwi ™ chambers, 6LoWPAN chambers, thread ™ chambers, SNAP ™ chambers), and other standards or specifications which conform to IEEE 802.15.4. That is, for example, IEEE 802.15.4 should be construed herein to include implementations that rely solely on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, as well as implementations that are built in accordance with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard with additional specifications (such as Zigbee ­ like, for example). In some examples, the first wireless connection 16 may conform to another connection protocol, such as, for example, IEEE 802.11, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi ™.

Although FIG. 1A shows hub device 12 as being directly connected to sensor device 14 via first wireless connection 16, in some examples, system 10 may include one or more friend nodes, each configured to act as an intermediary or "repeater" device. For example, first wireless connection 16 may represent a wireless connection established using one or more friend nodes configured in a mesh network, a star network, or another network for creating a communication link between sensor device 14 and hub device 12.

The processing circuitry 15 may be configured to output first bandwidth data 17 to the hub device 12 at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection 16 configured for a first wireless protocol. The first wireless protocol may include an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless protocol. In some examples, the first bandwidth data 17 may represent telemetry data. For example, the sensor device 14 may periodically output first bandwidth data that includes telemetry data for the sensor device 14. Examples of first bandwidth data may include, for example, but not limited to, status data of the sensor device 14, battery life data of the sensor device 14, configuration data of the sensor device 14, or other first bandwidth data. The first bandwidth data 17 may comprise data that is transmitted using a relatively low bandwidth. For example, the first bandwidth data 17 may comprise small data packets carrying a relatively small amount of data that may not require high bandwidth for transmission, and such data may be referred to herein as first bandwidth data.

Fig. 1B is a conceptual diagram illustrating the sensor devices 14 of fig. 1A exchanging a second wireless connection request 19, according to some examples of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 1B, the processing circuitry 15 may determine that the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12. For example, the processing circuitry 15 may be configured to generate sensor data, such as, for example, audio content, video content, or a combination of audio and video content. In this example, in response to determining that the sensor data includes audio content, video content, or a combination of audio and video content, the processing circuitry 15 may determine that the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12. The second bandwidth data 19 may comprise data transmitted using a relatively high bandwidth. For example, second bandwidth data 17 may comprise large data packets carrying relatively large data packets that may be transmitted using high bandwidth, and such data may be referred to herein as second bandwidth data. For example, the second bandwidth data 19 may rely on a higher bandwidth for transmission than the first bandwidth data 19. In some cases, the second bandwidth data 19 may include a greater amount of data than the first bandwidth data 19 for transmission during a period of time.

In response to determining that the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12, the processing circuit 15 is configured to output a second wireless connection request 19 to the hub device 12 using the first wireless connection 16. As previously indicated, the first wireless connection 16 may be configured for a first wireless protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4).

Although fig. 1A and 1B illustrate the first bandwidth data 17 and the second wireless connection request 19 as separate, in some examples, the first bandwidth data 17 may include the second wireless connection request 19. For example, the first bandwidth data 17 may include telemetry data of the sensor device 14 and the second wireless connection request 19. In this case, the processing circuitry 15 may output the telemetry data signaling the sensor device 14 and the transmission of the network packet of both the second wireless connection request 19 without relying on a separate transmission of the second wireless connection request 19.

Fig. 1C is a conceptual diagram illustrating the sensor device 14 of fig. 1A establishing the second wireless connection 18 and exchanging second bandwidth data 21, according to some examples of the present disclosure. The hub device 12 may be configured to output information for establishing a second wireless connection 18 with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request 19. For example, the hub device 12 may be configured to advertise information for pairing with the sensor device 14 in response to the second wireless connection request 19. For example, the hub device 12 may be configured to output information for establishing the second wireless connection 18 to include one or more network parameters for establishing the second wireless connection 18.

In response to the hub device 12 outputting the information for establishing the second wireless connection 18, the processing circuitry 15 may be configured to establish the second wireless connection 18. In some examples, the second wireless connection 18 is configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol. For example, the first wireless connection 16 may be configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In some examples, the second wireless connection 18 may be configured for a BLUETOOTH wireless protocol.

The processing circuit 15 may be configured to output the second bandwidth data 21 to the hub device 12 at the second bandwidth using the second wireless connection 18. In some examples, processing circuitry 15 may output first bandwidth data 17 at a first bandwidth. In this example, processing circuitry 15 may output second bandwidth data 21 at a second bandwidth that is greater than the first bandwidth. The second bandwidth data 21 may comprise video content, audio content and/or other data.

The second wireless connection 18 may be configured to support a higher bandwidth than the first wireless connection 16. For example, the first wireless connection 16 may be configured for a first wireless protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) that specifies a first wireless protocol bandwidth limit. Processing circuit 15 may output first bandwidth data 17 at a first bandwidth that is less than or equal to the first wireless protocol bandwidth limit. In this example, the second wireless connection 18 may be configured for a second wireless protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH) that specifies a second wireless protocol bandwidth limit that is greater than the first wireless protocol bandwidth. Processing circuit 15 may output second bandwidth data 21 at a second bandwidth that is less than or equal to the second wireless protocol bandwidth limit. In this manner, the second wireless connection 18 may be configured to support a higher data rate than the first wireless connection 16.

For example, the processing circuit 15 may output the first bandwidth data 17 at a first bandwidth of less than 500kbit/s, less than 250kbit/s, less than 100kbit/s, etc. In this example, processing circuitry 15 may output second bandwidth data 21 at a second bandwidth of greater than 250kbit/s, greater than 1Mbps, greater than 2Mbps, greater than 3Mbps, greater than 5Mbps, greater than 10Mbps, greater than 25Mbps, etc. For example, processing circuit 15 may output first bandwidth data 17 at a first bandwidth of less than 250kbit/s and may output second bandwidth data 21 at a second bandwidth of greater than 250 kbit/s.

Fig. 1D is a conceptual diagram illustrating the sensor device 14 of fig. 1A terminating the second wireless connection 18, according to some examples of the present disclosure. In the example of fig. 1D, the processing circuitry 15 may be configured to terminate the second wireless connection 18 after outputting the second bandwidth data 21. In some examples, the processing circuit 15 may be configured to terminate the second wireless connection 18 a predetermined period of time after the sensor device 14 establishes the second wireless connection 18. The hub device 12 may be configured to terminate the second wireless connection 18 a predetermined period of time after the sensor device 14 establishes the second wireless connection 18.

Terminating the second wireless connection 18 may allow the processing circuitry 15 to establish connections to other sensor devices. For example, for BLUETOOTH, there may be a relatively small number of wireless connections provided by the technique (e.g., less than 12 BLUETOOTH connections at a time), and IEEE 802.15.4 may not have this limitation. Thus, to make a system with 128 sensor devices, all using a BLUETOOTH connection and an IEEE 802.15.4 connection, the IEEE 802.15.4 connection may be continuously connected. However, in this example, the system may not be able to connect all sensor devices using a BLUETOOTH connection. Thus, the system may only use the BLUETOOTH connection when communicating and then disconnect the BLUETOOTH connection to release the BLUETOOTH connection for use by other sensor devices in the network. In this example, the first wireless connection is an IEEE 802.15.4 connection and the second wireless connection is a BLUETOOTH connection, however, in other examples, other communication protocols may be used.

Fig. 2 is a conceptual block diagram illustrating a networked system 20, which networked system 20 may be one example of the networked system 10 of fig. 1, according to some examples of the present disclosure. The system 20 includes a hub device 12, a thermostat 24A, a thermostat 24B (collectively referred to as thermostats 24), an indoor motion sensor 26A, an outdoor motion sensor 26B (collectively referred to as motion sensors 26), a door/window contact sensor 28, vent flaps 36A, 36B, 36C (collectively referred to as vent flaps 36), a smart doorbell 37, an outdoor air sensor 38, an outdoor infrared sensor 40A, an indoor infrared sensor 40B (collectively referred to as infrared sensors 40), a router 33, and a mobile device 32. Although the hub device 12 is shown as a distinct component, the hub device 12 may be integrated into one or more of the thermostat 24, the motion sensor 26, the door/window contact sensor 28, the vent damper 36, the smart doorbell 37, the outdoor air sensor 38, and the infrared sensor 40.

System 20 is a non-limiting example of the techniques of this disclosure. Other example systems may include more, fewer, or different components and/or devices. Although fig. 2 illustrates a mobile phone, in some examples, mobile device 32 may include a tablet computer, a laptop or personal computer, a smart watch, a wireless network-enabled key fob (key fob), an e-reader, or another mobile device. The mobile device 32 and/or the router 33 may be connected to a wide area network, such as, for example, the internet 34. The internet 34 may represent a connection to the internet via any suitable interface, such as, for example, a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), dial-up access, cable internet access, fiber optic access, wireless broadband access, hybrid access networks, or other interfaces. Examples of wireless broadband access include, for example, satellite access, wiMax, cellular (e.g., 1X, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, etc.) or other wireless broadband access.

Central hub device 12 may be in wireless data communication with thermostat 24, motion sensor 26, door/window contact sensor 28, vent damper 36, smart door bell 37, outdoor air sensor 38, and infrared sensor 40. For example, thermostat 24, motion sensor 26, door/window touch sensor 28, vent damper 36, smart doorbell 37, outdoor air sensor 38, and infrared sensor 40 may be directly connected to hub device 12 using one or more wireless channels according to a connection protocol such as, but not limited to, for example, IEEE 802.15.4, BLUETOOTH, or another connection protocol.

Each of the thermostat 24, motion sensor 26, door/window contact sensor 28, vent damper 36, smart doorbell 37, outdoor air sensor 38, and infrared sensor 40 may include a sensor device (e.g., a device configured to collect and/or generate sensor data), a controllable device, or both, as described herein. For example, the thermostat 24 may include a comfort device having a sensor (such as a thermometer configured to measure the temperature of air). In some examples, the vent flap 36 may include a device located within a vent or ventilation duct (air duct) that is configured to open or close a movable shutter of the vent in response to receiving an instruction from the hub device 12.

Although not shown in the example of fig. 2, central hub device 12 may be in indirect wireless data communication (e.g., communication via a friend node) with one or more of thermostat 24, motion sensor 26, door/window contact sensor 28, vent damper 36, smart doorbell 37, outdoor air sensor 38, and infrared sensor 40. For example, outdoor air sensor 38 may indirectly connect the thermostat to hub device 12 using a wireless channel according to a connection protocol such as, but not limited to, for example, IEEE 802.15.4, BLUETOOTH, or another connection protocol. For example, the outdoor air sensor 38 may be connected to the hub device 12 via the thermostat 24A, the outdoor infrared sensor 40A may be connected to the hub device 12 via the outdoor motion sensor 26B, and so on.

Thermostat 24 may be configured to wirelessly transmit the temperature (e.g., sensor data) directly to hub device 12. Further, the thermostats 24 may comprise controllable devices in that they may activate or deactivate heating, cooling, or ventilation systems in response to receiving instructions from the hub device 12. For example, thermostat 24A may collect temperature data and transmit the data to hub device 12. In response to receiving the temperature data, hub device 12 may determine that the corresponding room is too hot or too cold based on the temperature data and transmit a command to thermostat 24A to activate the heating or cooling system as appropriate. In this example, each thermostat 24 may include both a sensor device and a controllable device within a single distinct unit.

Indoor and outdoor motion sensors 26 may include security devices configured to detect the presence of nearby moving objects based on detection signals, such as electromagnetic signals, acoustic signals, magnetic signals, vibrations, or other signals. The detected signal may or may not be a reflection of a signal transmitted by the same device. In response to detecting the respective signal, motion sensor 26 may generate sensor data indicating the presence of the object and wirelessly transmit the sensor data to hub device 12. Hub device 12 may be configured to perform an action in response to receiving the sensor data, such as outputting an alert (such as a notification to mobile device 32), or by outputting a command for the respective motion sensor 26 to output an audible or visual alert. In this example, each motion sensor 26 may include both a sensor device and a controllable device within a single cell.

The door and/or window contact sensor 28 may include a security device configured to detect the opening of a door or window on which the door and/or window contact sensor 28 is mounted. For example, the contact sensor 28 may include a first component mounted on a door or window, and a second component mounted on a frame of the respective door or window. As the first component moves toward, past, or away from the second component, the contact sensor 28 may be configured to generate sensor data indicative of the motion of the door or window and wirelessly transmit the sensor data to the hub device 12. In response to receiving the sensor data, the hub device may be configured to perform an action, such as outputting an alert (such as a notification to the mobile device 32), or by outputting a command for the respective contact sensor 28 to output an audible or visual alert. In this example, the contact sensor 28 may include both a sensor device and a controllable device within a single unit.

The vent baffles 36 may be configured to regulate air flow within the duct. For example, the thermostat 24 may generate a control signal to close the vent flap 36A (e.g., when the room is unoccupied). In this example, in response to a control signal, the vent flap 36 may close to prevent air from flowing from the vent flap 36A. In some examples, the vent flaps 36 may send sensor data indicative of the status (e.g., open or closed) of the respective vent flap. For example, the vent flap 36 may output an indication to the thermostat 24 that the vent flap 36 is in an open state.

The smart doorbell 37 may be configured to provide notifications to the hub device 12. For example, the smart doorbell 37 may be configured to provide a notification (e.g., a message) when a button (e.g., doorbell) of the smart doorbell 37 is activated. In some examples, the smart doorbell 37 may comprise a motion sensor circuit configured to generate notifications in response to motion detected in the proximity of the smart doorbell 37. In some examples, the smart doorbell 37 may be configured to generate video content in response to motion detected in the vicinity of the smart doorbell 37. In some examples, the smart doorbell 37 may be configured to generate audio content in response to motion detected in the proximity of the smart doorbell 37. For example, in response to motion detected in the vicinity of the smart doorbell 37, the smart doorbell 37 may use a camera to generate video content and/or a microphone to generate audio content. In this case, the smart doorbell 37 may output video content and audio content to the hub device 12, and the hub device 12 may forward the video content and/or the audio content to the mobile device 32.

The outdoor air sensor 38 may be configured to generate sensor data indicative of, for example, the temperature, humidity, and/or quality (e.g., carbon monoxide, particulate matter, or other hazards) of the ambient air. In some examples, the outdoor air sensor 38 may wirelessly transmit sensor data to the hub device 12. For example, the outdoor air sensor 38 may periodically output a current or average temperature to the thermostat 24 via the hub device 12.

The outdoor passive infrared sensor 40 may include a security device configured to detect the presence of a nearby object, such as a person, based on detecting infrared wavelength electromagnetic waves emitted by the nearby object. In response to detecting the infrared waves, the passive infrared sensors 40 may generate sensor data indicating the presence of the object and wirelessly transmit the sensor data to the hub device 12. Hub device 12 may be configured to perform an action in response to receiving the sensor data, such as outputting an alert (such as a notification to mobile device 32), or by outputting a command for a corresponding passive infrared sensor 40 to output an audible or visual alert.

In accordance with the techniques of this disclosure, the hub device 12 and one or more (including each) of the thermostat 24, the motion sensor 26, the door/window contact sensor 28, the vent flap 36, the smart doorbell 37, the outdoor air sensor 38 and the infrared sensor 40 may be configured to operate using a first wireless connection for a first wireless protocol and a second wireless connection for a second wireless protocol. Although various examples described herein use IEEE 802.15.4 as an example of the first wireless protocol and BLUETOOTH as an example of the second wireless protocol, in some examples, other protocols may be used. The smart doorbell 37 is used as an example sensor device for example purposes only.

The hub device 12 and the smart doorbell 37 may establish a first wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In this example, the smart doorbell 37 may output first bandwidth data (e.g., a battery level of the smart doorbell 37) to the hub device 12. In response to determining that the smart doorbell 37 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12 at the second bandwidth, the smart doorbell 37 may output a second wireless connection request to the hub device 12 using the first wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In this example, in response to the hub device 12 outputting information to establish a second wireless connection with the smart doorbell 37 in response to the second wireless connection request, the smart doorbell 37 can establish a second wireless connection configured for BLUETOOTH and output second bandwidth data (e.g., video data) to the hub device 12 at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection.

As discussed further below, any combination of the thermostat 24, motion sensor 26, door/window contact sensor 28, vent damper 36, smart doorbell 37, outdoor air sensor 38, and infrared sensor 40 may be configured as a "friend node. The friend node may be configured to act as an intermediary or "repeater" device using the first wireless connection and/or the second wireless connection. In some examples, the friend node may act as a repeater device for both the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth. For example, the thermostat 24A may receive the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth data from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A and output the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth data received from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A to the hub device 12.

In some examples, different friend nodes may act as relay devices for the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth. For example, the thermostat 24A may receive first bandwidth data from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A and output the first bandwidth data received from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A to the hub device 12. In this example, the outdoor motion sensor 26B may receive the second bandwidth data from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A and output the second bandwidth data received from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A to the hub device 12.

Fig. 3 is a conceptual block diagram of hub device 12 and sensor device 14 according to some examples of the present disclosure. The system 30 may be any of the previous examples of the systems 10, 20 or another system. The system 30 includes the hub device 12 and the sensor device 14.

Hub device 12 includes at least a User Interface (UI) 320, a memory 322, a Processing Circuit (PC) 313, a communication circuit 326 ("comm. Circuirty"), and a power supply 328. The UI 320 is configured to receive data input from a user or output data to a user. For example, UI 320 may include a display screen, such as a touch screen, a keyboard, buttons, a microphone, a speaker, a camera, or any other user input/output device. Other examples of UI 320 are possible. For example, during an initial setup process, hub device 12 may "scan" for local proximity in order to identify one or more other devices (e.g., devices with identifiable wireless communication capabilities), and then output a list of discovered devices for display on a display screen for selection by a user. Via the UI 320, the user may also specify one or more parameters to control or otherwise manage the comfort and/or security systems within the building and surrounding premises. For example, via the UI 320, the user may specify one or more air temperature settings or security settings, such as an access code and/or an authorized user.

Hub device 12 includes a memory 322 configured to store data and instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry 313, cause hub device 12 to carry out one or more techniques in accordance with the present disclosure. The communication circuit 326 may include components, such as an antenna, configured to wirelessly transmit and receive data according to one or more wireless communication protocols. For example, communication circuitry 326 may be configured to transmit and/or receive data in accordance with one or more constraints (e.g., communication range, energy requirements, etc.) of a respective data communication protocol, where appropriate in accordance with either or both of the IEEE 802.15.4 protocol and/or the BLUETOOTH protocol.

Due to the energy intensive operations performed by the hub device 12, the power source 328 may include a wired connection to the power grid. However, in some examples, the power source 328 may additionally or alternatively include an internal power source, such as a battery or a super capacitor. In the example of fig. 3, the hub device 12 omits sensors, however, in some examples, the hub device 12 may further include one or more sensors. Further, hub device 12 may be configured as a friend node.

The sensor devices 14 may be configured to wirelessly communicate with the hub device 12. The sensor device 14 may include incorporated sensors 330, a UI 332, a memory 334, processing Circuitry (PC) 315, communication circuitry 340, and a power supply 342. In some examples, as non-limiting examples, sensor device 14 may include an incorporated sensor device, such as a motion sensor; a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor; an air temperature and/or humidity sensor; an air quality (e.g., carbon monoxide or particulate matter) sensor; or a door or window contact sensor, as non-limiting examples. The processing circuit 313 may include a wireless protocol selection module 339, the wireless protocol selection module 339 may be configured to select the first wireless protocol or the second wireless protocol for establishing the wireless connection. In some examples, wireless protocol selection module 339 may be configured to select between three or more wireless protocols for establishing wireless connections.

UI 330 is configured to receive data input from a user or output data to a user. For example, UI 330 may include a display screen, such as a touch screen, keyboard, buttons, microphone, speaker, camera, or any other user input/output device. Other examples of UI 330 are possible. For example, during an initial setup process, the sensor devices 14 may "scan" local proximity to identify one or more hub devices and/or other devices (e.g., devices with identifiable wireless communication capabilities), and then output a list of discovered devices for display on a display screen for selection by a user. Via UI 330, the user may also specify one or more parameters to control or otherwise manage the comfort and/or security systems within the building and surrounding premises. For example, via the UI 330, the user may specify one or more air temperature settings (e.g., for a thermostat) or security settings, such as an access code and/or an authorized user. Sensor device 14 includes a memory 334 configured to store data and instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry 315, cause sensor device 14 to carry out one or more techniques in accordance with the present disclosure.

In accordance with the techniques of this disclosure, the hub device 12 and the sensor devices 14 may be configured to operate using a first wireless connection for a first wireless protocol and a second wireless connection for a second wireless protocol. Although various examples described herein use IEEE 802.15.4 as an example of the first wireless protocol and BLUETOOTH as an example of the second wireless protocol, in some examples, other protocols may be used.

Although FIG. 3 shows hub device 12 as being directly connected to sensor devices 14, in some examples, system 30 may include one or more friend nodes, each configured to act as an intermediary or "repeater" device. For example, sensor device 14 may represent outdoor infrared sensor 40A of fig. 2. In this example, the sensor device 14 may output the first bandwidth data and/or the second bandwidth data to the hub device 12 by outputting the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth data to the thermostat 24A of fig. 2. In this example, the thermostat 24A of fig. 2 may receive the first bandwidth data and/or the second bandwidth data from the outdoor infrared sensor 40A and output the first bandwidth data and/or the second bandwidth data received from the sensor device 14 to the hub device 12.

The hub device 12 and the sensor devices 14 may establish a first wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In this example, the sensor device 14 may output first bandwidth data (e.g., status data) to the hub device 12. The wireless protocol selection module 339 may be configured to determine whether the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12. For example, the wireless protocol selection module 339 may be configured to determine that the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12 in response to determining that the sensor 330 generated sensor data that includes audio content, video content, or a combination of audio and video content.

In response to determining that the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12, the processing circuit 315 may output a second wireless connection request to the hub device 12 using the first wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In this example, in response to the hub device 12 outputting information for establishing the second wireless connection with the sensor device 14 in response to the second wireless connection request, the processing circuit 315 may establish the second wireless connection for the BLUETOOTH configuration.

Processing circuitry 315 and hub device 12 may exchange network parameters for a BLUETOOTH channel. For example, the processing circuit 315 may receive one or more network parameters of the second wireless connection from the hub device 12. In this example, the processing circuit 315 may be configured to establish the second wireless connection using the one or more network parameters.

For example, the processing circuitry 315 may determine (e.g., receive from the hub device 12, or generate for output to the hub device 12) one or more of: (1) A Media Access Control (MAC) address of host device 22 and a MAC address of thermostat 24A; (2) A real-time point in time for the transmission to start (or an offset from the 802.15.4 start command)); (3) an indication of a starting frequency; (4) an indication of a hop set (hop set); (5) connecting the intervals; or (6) connection latency.

For example, the processing circuit 315 and the hub device 12 may exchange the MAC addresses of the devices 12 and the MAC addresses of the sensor devices 14 via a wireless channel. In this example, communication circuit 326 and communication circuit 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between the MAC address of hub device 12 and the MAC address of sensor device 14.

In some examples, processing circuit 315 and hub device 12 may exchange an indication of a particular time for establishing the BLUETOOTH channel via a wireless channel. In this example, communication circuitry 326 and communication circuitry 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 at the particular time.

For example, the processing circuit 315 and the hub device 12 may exchange an indication of a starting frequency for establishing a BLUETOOTH channel via a wireless channel. In this example, communication circuit 326 and communication circuit 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 at a starting frequency. For example, the BLUETOOTH LE channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 may include 37 1MHz wide channels separated by 2 MHz. In this example, the starting frequency may be an indication of a particular 1MHz wide channel (e.g., channel 0, 1 \8230; 37), and communication circuitry 326 and communication circuitry 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 at the particular 1MHz wide channel.

The processing circuit 315 and the hub device 12 may exchange an indication of a hop set of a BLUETOOTH channel via the wireless channel, the hop set indicating a sequence of frequencies. In this example, communication circuit 326 and communication circuit 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 to operate in this frequency sequence. For example, the BLUETOOTH LE channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 may include 37 1MHz wide channels separated by 2 MHz. In this example, the sequence of frequencies may be an indication of an order in which to switch between 1MHz wide channels (e.g., channels 0, 1 \8230; 37), and communication circuitry 326 and communication circuitry 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 that selects a 1MHz wide channel according to the order in which to switch between 1MHz wide channels.

In some examples, processing circuitry 315 and hub device 12 may exchange an indication of a connection interval for a BLUETOOTH channel via a wireless channel. In this example, communication circuitry 326 and communication circuitry 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 to operate at this connection interval. For example, rather than exchanging data at any time on a BLUETOOTH channel between the hub device 12 and the sensor device 14, the BLUETOOTH channel between the hub device 12 and the sensor device 14 may be configured to initiate data transmission on the BLUETOOTH channel between the hub device 12 and the sensor device 14 at the connection interval.

Processing circuitry 315 and hub device 12 may exchange an indication of the connection latency of the BLUETOOTH channel via a wireless channel. In this example, communication circuitry 326 and communication circuitry 340 may be configured to establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 to operate with the connection latency. For example, rather than exchanging data over a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 at any time or at some connection interval, the BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 may be configured to initiate data transmission over the BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 at the latency interval of sensor device 14 or hub device 12. The latency interval may be selected to reduce the time for the radios of the sensor devices 14 and/or the hub device 12 to listen for data (further away from the connection interval), which may reduce power consumption of the sensor devices 14 and/or the hub device 12 compared to systems that omit latency intervals or use zero latency intervals.

The processing circuit 315 and the hub device 12 may exchange indications of antenna information for multiple antennas at the sensor device 14 via a wireless channel. In this example, communication circuitry 326 and communication circuitry 340 may be configured to select a particular antenna from the plurality of antennas based on the antenna information and establish a BLUETOOTH channel between hub device 12 and sensor device 14 using the particular antenna.

Once the second bandwidth connection is established, the processing circuitry 315 may output second bandwidth data (e.g., video data) to the hub device 12 at the second bandwidth using the second wireless connection. Likewise, the second wireless connection may be configured to support a higher bandwidth than the first wireless connection. For example, the first wireless connection may be configured for IEEE 802.15.4, which IEEE 802.15.4 may specify a first wireless protocol bandwidth limit (e.g., less than 250 kbit/s). In this example, the second wireless connection 18 may be configured for a BLUETOOTH specifying a second wireless protocol bandwidth limit greater than the first wireless protocol bandwidth (e.g., greater than 250 kbit/s). In some examples, processing circuit 315 may be configured to terminate the second wireless connection after outputting second bandwidth data 21. For example, the processing circuit 315 may be configured to terminate the second wireless connection a predetermined period of time after the sensor device 14 establishes the second wireless connection. In some examples, the hub device 12 may be configured to terminate the second wireless connection a predetermined period of time after the sensor device 14 establishes the second wireless connection.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual block diagram of hub device 412 and friend node 406 according to some examples of this disclosure. System 420 includes hub device 412, low power nodes 402A-402C (collectively, "low power nodes 402"), high speed nodes 432A-432B (collectively, "high speed nodes 432"), combined low power and high speed nodes 404A-404C (collectively, "combined nodes 404"), friend nodes 406, router 433, and mobile network interface 408. In some examples, hub device 412 may include a battery backup system. Although the hub device 412 is shown as a distinct component, the hub device 412 may be integrated into one or more sensor devices. As shown, high-speed node 432 may include a mobile device (e.g., a smartphone). System 420 is a non-limiting example of the techniques of this disclosure. Other example systems may include more, fewer, or different components and/or devices. Although the following discusses a low power wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4 and a high speed connection configured for BLUETOOTH, other wireless protocols may be used in other examples.

High-speed node 432 may be configured to transmit data at a bandwidth greater than the bandwidth of data transmitted by low-power node 402. For example, low power node 402 may be configured for a wireless connection bandwidth of less than 250 kbit/s. In some examples, high-speed node 432 may be configured for speeds greater than 250kbit/s (e.g., 1 Mbit/s).

Hub device 412 and/or friend node 406 may be configured to establish a first number of concurrent first wireless connections. For example, hub device 412 and/or friend node 406 may be configured to establish a wireless connection configured for a wireless protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) that supports up to 128 devices. In the example of fig. 4, the combining node 404 may represent "M" devices establishing "M" concurrent first wireless connections. For example, the combinational node 404 may represent "M" devices that establish "M" concurrent IEEE 802.15.4 wireless connections. In this example, low power nodes 402A, 402B may represent "X" devices that establish "X" first wireless connections concurrently with "M" concurrent first wireless connections. Low power node 402C may represent up to "N-X-M" devices that establish "N-X-M" first wireless connections concurrently with "M" and "X" concurrent first wireless connections. In some examples, "N" is 128.

The hub device 412 and/or the friend node 406 may be configured to establish a second number of concurrent second wireless connections. In some examples, the first number of first concurrent bandwidth connections (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4 connections) is greater than the second number of concurrent second wireless connections (e.g., BLUETOOTH connections). For example, hub device 412 and/or friend node 406 may be configured to concurrently establish up to 7 second wireless connections, concurrently establish up to 4 second wireless connections, concurrently establish up to 3 second wireless connections, and so on.

Mobile device 432 and/or router 433 may be connected to a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as, for example, the internet. Router 433 may represent a WAN interface to a WAN (e.g., the internet). For example, router 433 may exchange data with friend node 406 and/or hub device 412 at a bandwidth of greater than 11 Mkbit/s. The WAN interface may include, for example, but is not limited to, digital Subscriber Line (DSL), dial-up access, cable internet access, fiber optic access, wireless broadband access, hybrid access networks, or other interfaces. In some examples, the WAN interface may include a Wi-Fi router, ethernet, or other interface.

For example, one or more of low power node 402, combining node 404, friend node 406, and/or hub device 412 may be configured to output the first bandwidth data to a WAN interface of router 433. In this example, the first bandwidth data may include data to be output to hub device 412 and/or friend node 406 using an IEEE 802.15.4 connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In some examples, one or more of high speed node 432, combining node 404, friend node 406, and/or hub device 412 may be configured to output the second bandwidth data to a WAN interface of router 433. In this example, the second bandwidth data may include data to be output to hub device 412 and/or friend node 406 using a BLUETOOTH connection configured for the BLUETOOTH protocol. In some examples, one or more of low power node 402, high speed node 432, combining node 404, friends node 406, and/or hub device 412 may be configured to output the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth data to a WAN interface of router 433.

Mobile network interface 408 may represent wireless broadband access. Examples of wireless broadband access include, for example, satellite access, wiMax, cellular (e.g., 1X, 2G, 3G, LTE, 4G, 5G, etc.) or other wireless broadband access. In some examples, mobile network interface 408 may include a battery backup system.

The friend node 406 may be configured to communicate using multiple protocols. For example, friend node 406 may be configured to communicate using Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH, and IEEE 802.15.4. The friend node 406 may be configured to provide functionality (e.g., a thermostat, a keyboard, an alarm, a smoke and/or carbon monoxide (CO) detector). In some examples, friend node 406 may be configured to act as a relay for sensor devices that are out of range of hub device 412.

The friend node 406 may be configured to act as a relay for wireless communications configured for a first wireless protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4). For example, combining node 404A may be configured to output first bandwidth data to hub device 412 at a first bandwidth. In this example, the combining node 404A may output the first bandwidth data to the friend node 406 at the first bandwidth. The friend node 406 can be configured to output first bandwidth data at a first bandwidth to the hub device 412 using a first wireless protocol.

In some examples, the friend node 406 may be configured to act as a relay for wireless communications configured for a second wireless protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH). For example, combining node 404A may be configured to output the second bandwidth data to hub device 412 at the second bandwidth. In this example, the combining node 404A may output the second bandwidth data to the friend node 406 at the second bandwidth. The friend node 406 can be configured to output the second bandwidth data at the second bandwidth to the hub device 412 using the second wireless protocol.

The friend node 406 may be configured to act as a hub device when there is no hub device in the smart home network. In some examples, the friend node 406 may be configured to effectively act as a range extender by converting sensor traffic to Internet Protocol (IP) traffic at the node and moving the data stream to cloud logic. For example, the friend node 406 may output data (e.g., first bandwidth data, second bandwidth data, etc.) to the router 433 for output to the cloud system. In some examples, the friend node 406 may have access to a primary power source (e.g., direct access and/or indirect access via power stealing techniques) and/or may be configured with battery backup.

In accordance with techniques of this disclosure, hub device 412 may be configured to link data from sensor device(s) and/or friend node(s) to mobile network interface 408 to establish a connection to a cloud service (e.g., the internet). System 420 can reduce cloud connection costs by providing a network in which a minimum of devices are connected to mobile network interface 408. For example, the mobile network interface 408 may be configured to establish a connection to a cloud service (e.g., the internet) using, for example, a 4G ™ chamber, a 5G @, or the like. In this example, hub device 412 may be directly connected to mobile network interface 408. For example, hub device 412 may register with mobile network interface 408 to associate data usage of hub device 412 with a user account. In this example, the hub device 412 may be configured to provide data (e.g., first bandwidth data, second bandwidth data, or other data) from sensor devices (e.g., power node 402, high speed node 432, and combination node 404) to minimize the number of devices directly connected to the mobile network interface 408. Sensor devices (e.g., power node 402, high speed node 432, and combining node 404) may not be directly connected to mobile network interface 408. For example, power node 402A may not register with mobile network interface 408 to associate data usage of power node 402A with a user account, and power node 402A may instead rely on hub device 412 to provide connectivity to mobile network interface 408. In this manner, the cost for connecting devices to mobile network interface 408 may be minimized because hub device 412 may forward data from other devices of system 420 rather than connecting each device of system 420 directly to mobile network interface 408.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual block diagram of a first use case of hub device 512 and friend node 506 according to some examples of the disclosure. System 520 is a non-limiting example of the techniques of this disclosure. Other example systems may include more, fewer, or different components and/or devices. Although the following discusses a low power wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4 and a high speed connection configured for BLUETOOTH, other wireless protocols may be used in other examples.

The system 520 includes a friend node 506, a hub device 512, key fobs 502A, 502B, smoke detectors 502C, 502D, a furnace controller 502E, a portable comfort controller 502F ("PCC 502F"), motion viewers 504A, 504B, mobile devices 532A, 532B, and a router 533. Key fobs 502A, 502B, smoke detectors 502C, 502D, oven controller 502E, portable comfort controller 502F may represent an example of low power node 402 of fig. 4. The motion viewers 504A, 504B may represent examples of the compound node 404 of fig. 4. In the example of fig. 5, the friend node 506 may include a thermostat. The motion viewer 504 may be configured to communicate using IEEE 802.15.4 for alerting, adjusting, and supervising. In some examples, the motion viewer 504 may be configured to communicate using BLUETOOTH for image transmission, video transmission, and the like.

In accordance with techniques of this disclosure, hub device 512, motion viewers 504A, 504B, and friend node 506 may be configured to operate using a first wireless connection for a first wireless protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.15.4) and a second wireless connection for a second wireless protocol (e.g., BLUETOOTH). Although various examples described herein use IEEE 802.15.4 as an example of the first wireless protocol and BLUETOOTH as an example of the second wireless protocol, in some examples, other protocols may be used. The motion viewer 504A is used as an example sensor device for example purposes only.

Hub device 512 and sports viewer 504A may establish a first wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In this example, the sports viewer 504A may output first bandwidth data (e.g., battery level of the sports viewer 504A) to the hub device 512. In response to determining that the sports viewer 504A has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 512, the sports viewer 504A may output a second wireless connection request to the hub device 512 using the first wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In this example, in response to hub device 512 outputting information to establish the second wireless connection with motion viewer 504A in response to the second wireless connection request, motion viewer 504A may establish the second wireless connection configured for BLUETOOTH and output second bandwidth data (e.g., video data) to hub device 512 at the second bandwidth using the second wireless connection.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual block diagram of a second use case of hub device 612 and friend node 606 in accordance with some examples of the disclosure. Other example systems may include more, fewer, or different components and/or devices. Although the following discusses a low power wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4 and a high speed connection configured for BLUETOOTH, other wireless protocols may be used in other examples.

System 620 includes friend node 606, hub device 612, key fobs 602A, 602B, smoke detectors 602C, 602D, oven controller 602E, portable comfort controller 602F ("PCC 602F"), motion viewers 604A, 604B, mobile devices 632A, 632B, and router 633. Key fobs 602A, 602B, smoke detectors 602C, 602D, oven controller 602E, portable comfort controller 602F may represent an example of low power node 402 of fig. 4. The motion viewers 604A, 604B may represent examples of the combined node 404 of fig. 4. In the example of fig. 6, the friend node 606 may include a keyboard. For example, friend node 606 may be configured to generate user input based on user interaction with one or more keys of a keyboard. In this example, friend node 606 can output user input to hub device 612.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual block diagram of a third use case of a hub device and friend node according to some examples of this disclosure. Other example systems may include more, fewer, or different components and/or devices. Although the following discusses a low power wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4 and a high speed connection configured for BLUETOOTH, other wireless protocols may be used in other examples.

The system 720 includes a friend node 706, key fobs 702A, 702B, smoke detectors 702C, 702D, an oven controller 702E, a portable comfort controller 702F ("PCC 702F"), motion viewers 704A, 704B, mobile devices 732A, 732B, and a router 733. Key fobs 702A, 702B, smoke detectors 702C, 702D, oven controller 702E, portable comfort controller 702F may represent an example of low power node 402 of fig. 4. The motion viewers 704A, 704B may represent examples of the combined node 404 of fig. 4. In the example of fig. 7, the friend node 706 is a thermostat. Further, friend node 706 can represent a hub device of system 720.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual block diagram of a fourth use case of a hub device 812 and a friend node 806 in accordance with some examples of the present disclosure. Other example systems may include more, fewer, or different components and/or devices. Although the following discusses a low power wireless connection configured for IEEE 802.15.4 and a high speed connection configured for BLUETOOTH, other wireless protocols may be used in other examples.

System 820 includes friend node 806, key fobs 802A, 802B, smoke detectors 802C, 802D, oven controller 802E, portable comfort controller 802F ("PCC 802F"), motion viewer 804, smart lock 805, mobile devices 832A, 832B, and router 833. The key fobs 802A, 802B, smoke detectors 802C, 802D, oven controller 802E, portable comfort controller 802F may represent an example of the low power node 402 of fig. 4. The motion viewer 804 may represent an example of the combining node 404 of FIG. 4. Smart lock 805 may represent an example of high-speed node 432 of FIG. 4. In the example of fig. 8, friend node 806 is a smoke detector with two-way audio. Further, friend node 806 can represent a hub device of system 820.

Fig. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example technique for wirelessly connecting devices using multiple wireless protocols in accordance with some examples of the present disclosure. The examples of fig. 1A-1D and 2-8 are referenced for illustrative purposes only.

In accordance with techniques of this disclosure, the processing circuit 15 may output first bandwidth data 17 to the hub device 12 at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection 16 configured for a first wireless protocol (902). For example, the processing circuit 15 may output first bandwidth data 17 to the hub device 12 at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection 16 configured for IEEE 802.15.4. In response to determining that the sensor device 14 has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device 12, the processing circuit 15 may output a second wireless connection request 19 to the hub device 12 using the first wireless connection 16 configured for the first wireless protocol (904). In response to the hub device 12 outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device 14 in response to the second wireless connection request 19, the processing circuitry 15 may establish a second wireless connection 18 configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol (906). For example, the processing circuit 15 may establish the second wireless connection 18 configured for BLUETOOTH.

The processing circuit 15 may output the second bandwidth data 21 to the hub device 12 at the second bandwidth using the second wireless connection 18 (908). In some examples, the second bandwidth is greater than the first bandwidth. In some examples, processing circuitry 15 may optionally terminate the second wireless connection (910).

The following numbered examples illustrate one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

Example 1. A sensor device of a set of sensor devices configured to register with a hub device, the sensor device comprising processing circuitry configured to: outputting first bandwidth data to a hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol; responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting a second wireless connection request to the hub device using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol; responsive to the hub device outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request, establishing a second wireless connection, the second wireless connection configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol; and outputting second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

Example 2. The sensor device of example 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to terminate the second wireless connection after outputting the second bandwidth data.

Example 3. The sensor device of examples 1 or 2, wherein the processing circuitry, the hub device, or a combination of the processing circuitry and the hub device is configured to terminate the second wireless connection a predetermined period of time after the sensor device establishes the second wireless connection.

Example 4. The sensor device of any of examples 1-3, wherein the first wireless protocol specifies a first wireless protocol bandwidth limit that is greater than or equal to a first bandwidth; wherein the second wireless protocol specifies a second wireless protocol bandwidth limit that is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth; and wherein the second wireless protocol bandwidth limit is greater than the first wireless protocol bandwidth.

Example 5. The sensor device of any of examples 1-4, wherein the second wireless protocol comprises a BLUETOOTH wireless protocol.

Example 6. The sensor device of any of examples 1-5, wherein the information for establishing the second wireless connection comprises one or more network parameters of the second wireless connection; and wherein to establish the second wireless connection, the processing circuit is configured to establish the second wireless connection using the one or more network parameters.

Example 7. The sensor device of any of examples 1-6, wherein the one or more network parameters comprise one or more of: a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the sensor device and a MAC address of the hub device; a start time for starting transmission of the second bandwidth data; an indication of a starting frequency of the second wireless connection; an indication of a frequency hopping set for the second wireless connection; or the connection interval of the second wireless connection.

Example 8. The sensor device of any of examples 1-7, wherein the first wireless protocol comprises an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless protocol.

Example 9. The sensor device of any of examples 1-8, wherein the first wireless protocol bandwidth limit is less than 250kbps, and wherein the second wireless protocol bandwidth limit is greater than 250kbps.

Example 10. The sensor device of any of examples 1-9, wherein the first wireless protocol is configured to establish a first number of concurrent first wireless connections to the set of sensor devices; and wherein the second wireless protocol is configured to establish a second number of concurrent second wireless connections to the set of sensor devices, the first number of first concurrent bandwidth connections being greater than the second number of concurrent second wireless connections.

Example 11. The sensor device of any of examples 1-10, wherein to output the first bandwidth data to the hub device, the processing circuitry is configured to output the first bandwidth data to a first friend node, wherein the first friend node is configured to output the first bandwidth data to the hub device using a first wireless protocol; and wherein to output the high first bandwidth data to the hub device, the processing circuit is configured to output the second bandwidth data to the second friend node, wherein the second friend node is configured to output the second bandwidth data to the hub device using the second wireless protocol.

Example 12. The sensor device of any of examples 1-11, wherein the first friend node comprises another sensor device of the set of sensor devices.

Example 13. The sensor device of any of examples 1-12, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to: generating sensor data; and determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device in response to determining that the sensor data includes audio content, video content, or a combination of audio content and video content, wherein the second bandwidth data includes the sensor data.

Example 14. The sensor device of any of examples 1-13, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the first bandwidth data to include one or more of: a second wireless connection request; status data of the sensor device; battery life data of the sensor device; or configuration data of the sensor device.

Example 15. The sensor device of any of examples 1-14, wherein the sensor device is configured to output the first bandwidth data, the second bandwidth data, or a combination of the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth data to a Wide Area Network (WAN) using a WAN interface of the hub device.

Example 16. The sensor device of any of examples 1-15, wherein the WAN interface comprises a Wi-Fi router; or wherein the WAN interface comprises ethernet.

Example 17. A method, comprising: outputting, by the processing circuitry of the sensor device, first bandwidth data to the hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol; responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting, by the processing circuit, a second wireless connection request to the hub device using a first wireless connection configured for the first wireless protocol; establishing, by the processor, a second wireless connection configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol in response to the hub device outputting information for establishing the second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to the second wireless connection request; and outputting, by the processing circuit, second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

Example 18. The method of example 17, comprising terminating, by the processing circuit, the second wireless connection after outputting the second bandwidth data.

Example 19. A system, comprising: a hub device; a plurality of sensor devices registered with a hub device, wherein a sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices comprises a first processing circuit configured to: outputting first bandwidth data to a hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless protocol; and in response to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting a second wireless connection request to the hub device using the first wireless protocol; wherein the hub device includes a second processing circuit configured to output information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request; and wherein the first processing circuit is further configured to: establishing a second wireless connection using a second wireless protocol for establishing the second wireless connection different from the first wireless protocol in response to the hub device outputting the information for establishing the second wireless connection; and outputting second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

Example 20. The system of example 19, wherein the hub device is directly connected to a mobile network interface configured to establish a connection to a cloud service; and wherein the hub device is configured to provide data from the sensor devices to the mobile network interface to minimize a number of sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices that are directly connected to the mobile network interface.

The present disclosure may be implemented using a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that cause a processor to perform any of the functions and techniques described herein. The computer readable storage medium may take any exemplary form of volatile, nonvolatile, magnetic, optical, or electrical media, such as RAM, ROM, NVRAM, EEPROM, or flash memory. The computer-readable storage medium may be referred to as non-transitory. The computing device may also contain a more portable removable memory type to enable easy data transfer or offline data analysis.

The techniques described in this disclosure may be implemented at least in part in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, various aspects of the techniques may be implemented in one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry, as well as any combinations of such components. The term "processor" or "processing circuitry" may generally refer to any of the foregoing logic circuitry (alone or in combination with other logic circuitry) or any other equivalent circuitry.

As used herein, the term circuit refers to an ASIC, an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. The term "processing circuitry" refers to one or more processors distributed across one or more devices. For example, "processing circuitry" may include a single processor or multiple processors on a device. The "processing circuitry" may also include a processor on multiple devices, where the operations described herein may be distributed across the processor and the devices.

Such hardware, software, firmware may be implemented within the same device or within separate devices to support the various operations and functions described in this disclosure. For example, any of the techniques or processes described herein may be performed within one device or distributed, at least in part, between two or more devices. Furthermore, any of the described units, modules or components may be implemented together or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. Describing different features as modules or units is intended to highlight different functional aspects and does not necessarily imply that such modules or units must be realized by separate hardware or software components. Rather, functionality associated with one or more modules or units may be performed by separate hardware or software components, or integrated within common or separate hardware or software components.

The techniques described in this disclosure may also be embodied or encoded in an article of manufacture that includes a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions. Instructions embedded or encoded in an article of manufacture comprising an encoded non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may cause one or more programmable processors or other processors to implement one or more of the techniques described herein, such as when the instructions contained or encoded in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed by the one or more processors. Example non-transitory computer readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disk ROM (CD-ROM), a floppy disk, a magnetic cassette, magnetic media, optical media, or any other computer readable storage device or tangible computer readable media.

In some examples, the computer-readable storage medium includes a non-transitory medium. The term "non-transitory" may indicate that the storage medium is not embodied in a carrier wave or propagated signal. In some examples, a non-transitory storage medium may store data that may change over time (e.g., in RAM or cache). The elements of the devices and circuits described herein may be programmed using various forms of software. For example, one or more processors may be implemented at least in part as or include one or more executable applications, application modules, libraries, classes, methods, objects, routines, subroutines, firmware, and/or embedded code.

Various examples of the present disclosure have been described. Any combination of the described systems, operations, or functions is contemplated. These and other examples are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (20)

1. A sensor device of a set of sensor devices configured to register with a hub device, the sensor device comprising processing circuitry configured to:

outputting first bandwidth data to a hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol;

responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting a second wireless connection request to the hub device using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol;

responsive to the hub device outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request, establishing a second wireless connection, the second wireless connection configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol; and

the second bandwidth data is output to the hub device at a second bandwidth using a second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

2. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is configured to terminate the second wireless connection after outputting the second bandwidth data.

3. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry, the hub device, or a combination of the processing circuitry and the hub device is configured to terminate the second wireless connection a predetermined period of time after the sensor device establishes the second wireless connection.

4. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensor device is a single-chip microprocessor,

wherein the first wireless protocol specifies a first wireless protocol bandwidth limit that is greater than or equal to the first bandwidth;

wherein the second wireless protocol specifies a second wireless protocol bandwidth limit that is greater than or equal to the second bandwidth; and

wherein the second wireless protocol bandwidth limit is greater than the first wireless protocol bandwidth.

5. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the second wireless protocol comprises a BLUETOOTH wireless protocol.

6. The sensor device as set forth in claim 1,

wherein the information for establishing the second wireless connection comprises one or more network parameters of the second wireless connection; and

wherein to establish the second wireless connection, the processing circuit is configured to establish the second wireless connection using the one or more network parameters.

7. The sensor device of claim 6, wherein the one or more network parameters comprise one or more of:

a Media Access Control (MAC) address of the sensor device and a MAC address of the hub device;

a start time for starting transmission of the second bandwidth data;

an indication of a starting frequency of the second wireless connection;

an indication of a frequency hopping set for the second wireless connection; or alternatively

Connection interval of the second wireless connection.

8. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the first wireless protocol comprises an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless protocol.

9. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensor device is a single-chip microprocessor,

wherein the first wireless protocol bandwidth limit is less than 250kbps; and

wherein the second wireless protocol bandwidth limit is greater than 250kbps.

10. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensor device is a single-chip microprocessor,

wherein the first wireless protocol is configured to establish a first number of concurrent first wireless connections to the set of sensor devices; and

wherein the second wireless protocol is configured to establish a second number of concurrent second wireless connections to the set of sensor devices, the first number of first concurrent bandwidth connections being greater than the second number of concurrent second wireless connections.

11. The sensor device as set forth in claim 1,

wherein to output the first bandwidth data to the hub device, the processing circuitry is configured to output the first bandwidth data to a first friend node, wherein the first friend node is configured to output the first bandwidth data to the hub device using a first wireless protocol; and

wherein to output the high first bandwidth data to the hub device, the processing circuit is configured to output the second bandwidth data to the second friend node, wherein the second friend node is configured to output the second bandwidth data to the hub device using the second wireless protocol.

12. The sensor device of claim 11, wherein the first friend node comprises another sensor device of the set of sensor devices.

13. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

generating sensor data; and

determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to a hub device in response to determining that the sensor data includes audio content, video content, or a combination of audio and video content, wherein the second bandwidth data includes the sensor data.

14. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to generate the first bandwidth data to include one or more of:

a second wireless connection request;

status data of the sensor device;

battery life data of the sensor device; or alternatively

Configuration data of the sensor device.

15. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein the sensor device is configured to output the first bandwidth data, the second bandwidth data, or a combination of the first bandwidth data and the second bandwidth data to a Wide Area Network (WAN) using a WAN interface of the hub device.

16. The sensor device of claim 15, wherein the sensor device is a single-chip microprocessor,

wherein the WAN interface comprises a Wi-Fi router; or

Wherein the WAN interface comprises an Ethernet network.

17. A method, comprising:

outputting, by the processing circuitry of the sensor device, first bandwidth data to the hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless connection configured for a first wireless protocol;

responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting, by the processing circuit, a second wireless connection request to the hub device using a first wireless connection configured for the first wireless protocol;

establishing, by the processor, a second wireless connection in response to the hub device outputting information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request, the second wireless connection configured for a second wireless protocol different from the first wireless protocol; and

outputting, by the processing circuit, second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

18. The method of claim 17, comprising: terminating, by the processing circuit, the second wireless connection after outputting the second bandwidth data.

19. A system, comprising:

a hub device;

a plurality of sensor devices registered with a hub device, wherein a sensor device of the plurality of sensor devices comprises a first processing circuit configured to:

outputting first bandwidth data to a hub device at a first bandwidth using a first wireless protocol; and

responsive to determining that the sensor device has second bandwidth data to output to the hub device at a second bandwidth, outputting a second wireless connection request to the hub device using the first wireless protocol;

wherein the hub device includes a second processing circuit configured to output information for establishing a second wireless connection with the sensor device in response to a second wireless connection request; and

wherein the first processing circuit is further configured to:

establishing a second wireless connection using a second wireless protocol for establishing the second wireless connection different from the first wireless protocol in response to the hub device outputting the information for establishing the second wireless connection; and

outputting second bandwidth data to the hub device at a second bandwidth using the second wireless connection, the second bandwidth being greater than the first bandwidth.

20. The system as set forth in claim 19, wherein,

wherein the hub device is directly connected to a mobile network interface configured to establish a connection to a cloud service; and

wherein the hub device is configured to provide data from the sensor devices to the mobile network interface to minimize a number of sensor devices of the plurality of sensor devices that are directly connected to the mobile network interface.

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